Michael Chang

Two POEMS

---

CAMPAIGN POSTCARDS

Being from Appalachia ,

Growing up on a donkey farm ,

A forgotten part of the country , where I’m from ,

President Lincoln said ,

I never thought I could live openly ,

When I was diagnosed with ,

The man of my dreams ,

As an educator , mom , kick-ass chef ,

In a household of 18 kids ,

I graduated with a 2.0 GPA & facial blindness ,

As your District Attorney & the highest-ranking law enforcement official ,

Never in my wildest ,

When my son was born ,

Single & lacking a motherly instinct ,

The doubters said ,

I believe America’s future is ahead of it ,

We can ,

We must ,

AMERICA

’member they mistake u other oriental

’member they refuse look u squinty face

’member they ask where u come from

’member they praise u speakee the english

’member they cut ur line

’member they not give u box for banh mi

’member they assume parents run bodega

’member they give u takeout order moo shu pork

’member they claim ur office smelly egg foo young

’member they tell u black joke wink wink

’member they say black hair hard worker no complain

’member they think black hair always go with the flow

---

MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of several collections of poetry, including Almanac of Useless Talents (CLASH Books, 2022) & Synthetic Jungle (Northwestern University Press, 2023). Tapped to edit Lambda Literary's Emerge anthology, their poems have been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, and the Pushcart Prize. They were awarded the Poetry Project's prestigious Brannan Prize & serve as a poetry editor at the acclaimed journal Fence.